The first shipment of humanitarian aid crossed the border from Brazil to Venezuela Saturday, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido said, but getting aid to the people of Venezuela continues to be beyond difficult.
“This is a great accomplishment, Venezuela!” Guaido wrote on Twitter Saturday.
Guaido, the 35-year-old president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, declared himself the country’s interim leader in January as conditions deteriorated under socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro.
Guaido’s supporters are trying to bring aid shipments from Colombia and Brazil into Venezuela, but Maduro’s troops are blocking trucks both coming and going along parts of the border. Video footage from Friday showed Venezuelan soldiers erecting barricades and brawling with Guaido’s supporters to keep trucks from exiting the country to collect aid. (RELATED: ‘All Options Are Open’: Trump Puts Venezuelan Military On Notice)
Meanwhile, some soldiers posted on the Venezuelan border defected from Maduro’s control. A social media video appears to show four soldiers denouncing Maduro and supporting Guaido, who promised them “amnesty,” reported BBC.
Guaido was in Colombia Saturday seeing off shipments of aid to Venezuela with Colombian president Ivan Duque, reported CBS News. Thousands of volunteers will help get the aid into Venezuela, he said according to BBC.
WATCH:
WATCH: Venezuelan troops try to block a convoy headed to the Colombian border to collect humanitarian aid. pic.twitter.com/fU6M8JQp5x
— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 21, 2019
U.S. President Donald Trump criticized Maduro and recognized Guaido in January, as did other countries, including Brazil and Canada.
U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton made headlines when he was spotted carrying a notepad with “5,000 troops to Colombia” scribbled on it Jan. 28. Colombia and Venezuela border one another.
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who many nations have recognized as the country’s rightful interim ruler gestures while standing on a truck carrying humanitarian aid for Venezuela in the area of a warehouse where humanitarian aid for Venezuela has been collected in Cucuta, Colombia, February 23, 2019. REUTERS/Marco Bello
Trump emphasized “all options” are open when dealing with the situation in Venezuela.
“We seek a peaceful transition of power, but all options are open,” he said during a speech at Florida International University Monday.
Bolton’s Twitter feed showed he was monitoring the situation in Venezuela closely Saturday.
“The U.S. has provided critically needed aid for the people of Venezuela,” Bolton wrote on Twitter Saturday. “Now is the time for Venezuelan military allow to aid through the border. As Interim President Guaido said today ‘Those who accompany us to save the lives of Venezuelans are true patriots.'”
The U.S. has provided critically needed aid for the people of Venezuela. Now is the time for Venezuelan military allow to aid through the border. As Interim President Guaido said today “Those who accompany us to save the lives of Venezuelans are true patriots.” https://t.co/Ha3PZFBjoF
— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) February 23, 2019
The people of Venezuela have faced economic hardship and crackdowns on their freedom under Maduro, who succeeded infamous socialist dictator Hugo Chavez.
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